Reproductive pattern and population dynamics of commercial red swamp crayfish (<i>Procambarus clarkii</i>) from China: implications for sustainable aquaculture management

Abstract

<i>P. clarkii</i> spawned from September to November while two recruitments were observed yearly. We inferred that some eggs, prevented from hatching by low water temperature in winter, were more likely to hatch in the next spring. Moreover, the fishing mortality rate was relatively high for males, which might be related to the males-directed selection during the reproductive period. The higher values of exploitation rate in our study confirmed that males <i>P. clarkii</i> were overexploited and were under high fishing pressure. We thus suggest reducing fishing intensity on immature crayfish and avoid sex selection during the reproductive period to improve the overall sustainability of commercial <i>P. clarkii</i> populations.